
:)RD 




Book^ 3Ta_ 
CotfyiigktN"-^ _ _ 

COPyraCIIT DEPOSIT. 



THE BROOK TROUT 



THE DETERMINED ANGLER 



A little pocket volume containing several descriptions oftn 

fly fisher's paradise, and a few practical su^ - 
gestions'for the young atg^e*" 



BY 
CHARLES BARKER BRADFORD 

AUTHOR OF "the WILDFOWLERS," ETC 



<1^ 




WYCIL & COMPANY, 

Publishers and Importers, 

83 Nassau Street, 

New York. 






THt Libr-;Ai<YOF 
CONGRESS. 

Two Copies Received 

, FFB 12 1903 

' 'Copyiight Entry 
CLASS ^ Je£^ No, 

.4 ^ 1. IT 

! COPY B. 



COPYUISUT, 1900, 
BY 

THE E. P. GROW PUBLISHINS CO. 



•rriE MKRSHON COMPAKT KIRSS, 
NO. 156 VrVTU AVEKUK, NEVT YORK, N.T. 



%. 



V 



TO 

J. CHARLES DAVIS 

THESE LITTLE YARNS ARE DEDICATED IN REMEMBRANCE 
OF SOME DELIGHTFUL DAYS PASSED IN HIS SO- 
CIETY, AND IN GRATITUDE FOR AN 
UNINTERRUPTED FRIENDSHIP 
OF MANY YEARS. 



" Gentlemen, let not prejudice prepossess you. I con- 
fess my discourse is like to prove suitable to my recrea- 
tion, calm and quiet. . . And so much for the prologue 
of what I mean to say." 



-^zivcsjj /UftcMxf n 



AUTHOR'S ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 

The article, " Fly Fishing for Trout," I con- 
tributed in its original form to Sports Afield, Mr. 
Claude King's Western journal. 

The article " Trout and Trouting," as I origi- 
nally prepared it, was entitled " Near-by Trout 
Streams," and was written for and published in 
Outing, when I was field editor of that delightful 
magazine. 

" Trouting in Canadensis Valley " is rewritten 
from a little story of mine penned for the noted 
angler and ichthyologist, Mr. William C. Harris, 
and published by him in The American Angler. 

And most of the items in " Little Casts " are 
from a collection of paragraphs I have contrib- 
uted to the New York Herald and various sport- 
ing periodicals in the past dozen years. 

For the little pen-and-ink sketches I am indebted 
to our jovial artist, Leppert. 

The picture, " Taking the Fly," is a reproduc- 
tion from an etching in my possession, presented 
to me by Mr. William M. Carey, whose etchings 
and paintings in oil are well known to American 
sportsmen. 

" The Fly Rod's Victim " is reproduced from a 
7 



8 Author s Acknowledgments. 

photograph framed in birch bark and presented to 
me by the poet, Isaac McLellan. 

" The Brook Trout " illustration is from a pho- 
tograph of a captive specimen in an aquarium, the 
engraving being loaned me by Mr. John P. Burk- 
hard, publisher of Field and Stream. 

Richmond Hill, 

Long Island, N. Y., 
May ly iqoo. 





FLY FISHING FOR TROUT. 

The variety of rivers require different ways of an- 
gling. — The Complete Angler. 

HE art of catching fishes with 
artificial lures in imitation of 
natural insects is the most chiv- 
alric of all methods of angling. 
Fishes, particularly trout, often hook 
themselves when they seize the fly of a 
fisherman using a pliant rod that will yield 
and spring freely. As the game strikes, 
the angler strikes, hooking the fish swiftly 
but delicately by a simple turn of the 
wrist. The trout is not flaunted up in 
the air by force, as some coarse perch 
fishermen lift their catch. The trout 
fisher does not use his arm at all in hook- 
ing a trout, beyond aiding the hand in 
holding the rod for the wrist to do the 
work. A practiced troutman can secure 
his fish by moving his hand five inches — 
a little backward nervous twist of the 
wrist. 



lO The Brook Trout. 

Trout often snap a fly and spit it out so 
quickly that tlie tyro does not have a 
chance to strike and hook the prize. At 
other times they take hold more slowly, 
and afford the beginner more opportunity 
to hook them, and, as I have said, they 
very often hook themselves. 

The beginner will have some trouble in 
overcoming the excitement or '^ trout 
fever " that always accompanies the trout's 
rise and strike, but experience will grad- 
ually make him more calm and active at 
this important moment. The tyro trout 
fisher is often more frightened at the rise 
of the trout than he would be at the flush 
of a noisy grouse or the springing of a 
surprised deer. 

When you have hooked the fish, al- 
ways handle him as if he were but lightly 
secured. Do not attempt to lift him out 
or yank him up to you. Keep the line 
gently taut, and softly lead the prize out 
of rough water or away from stones, 
grasses, logs, or tree branches. Do not 
let him come to the surface until he 
is pretty well exhausted and you are 
about to put him in the landing-net. If 



Fly Fishing for Trout. 1 1 

he is a large fish, tow him ashore if the 
water edge will permit. Where there are 
overhanging banks this cannot be done. 
Do not be in a hurry to get him out of 
the water. Be calm and work carefully. 

If the fish is large enough to overcome 
the reel click and run off the line, let him 
do so, but check him and guide him ac- 
cording to any obstruction there may be. 

When he has rushed here and there for 
some little time with his mouth open and 
with a constant check — the line should al- 
ways be taut — he will become tired, and 
when he is tired he will not rush. Then 
softly reel him in, being careful not to 
let him come in contact with a stone or 
weed, which is sure to arouse him again. 
Reel him up until your leader touches the 
tip of the rod. Then, if the leader is 
of the correct length and if the rod is 
properly pliant, he will be near enough 
for you to put your landing-net under 
him, tail first, as all fish should be net- 
ted. Do this quickly, without making 
a splashing swoop, and he will soon grace 
your creel. 

Several persons have expressed an ob- 



12 The Brook Trout. 

jection to a list of flies I once named in 
Sports Afield, saying a good angler might 
kill just as many trout on quarter the 
number. 

Any angler can take even less than one- 
quarter of the enumerated list and catch 
fully as many brook trout as one who 
might use all of the flies mentioned — if 
he can pick out the ones the trout are ris- 
ing to without trying them all until he 
discovers the killing ones. A chef might 
please his master with one or two of the 
forty courses billed, if he knew what the 
man wanted. Sometimes an angler can 
judge the appropriate fly to use by ob- 
serving nature in seeing trout rise to the 
live fly ; but there are times when trout 
are not rising, times when they are tired 
of the fly upon the water, and times when 
the real fly is not on the wing. Then the 
angler is expected to take matters in his 
own hands and whip about quietly until 
he discovers the proper thing. It is bet- 
ter to try for the right ones with a list of 
twenty-nine than whip over a list of a 
thousand or more. I have learned from 
experience that trout, like human beings, 



Fly Fishing for Trout. 1 3 

are in love with a variety of foods at dif- 
ferent times. Their tastes change with 
the months, the weeks, the days, the 
hours, and, under certain conditions which 
I will presently explain, the minutes. 
When I mention twenty-nine different 
patterns as being seasonable at a stated 
period, I do not mean to say that the 
trout will rise to them all and at any 
time and under all conditions. In the 
first place, the person using them might 
be a tyro unfamiliar with the gentle art, 
the streams might be dried up, there 
might be an earthquake, the flies might 
be too large, too coarse, and for that mat- 
ter a thousand other conditions might 
interfere. I fish dozens of streams in 
different localities several times every 
month during the legal season, and I 
have been a fond angler — if not a skillful 
one — since my tenth birthday. Experi- 
ence on the streams, a true love for 
nature, and a careful attention to my 
notebook enable me to separate the arti- 
ficial flies into monthly lists. No man 
can class them into weekly or daily lots. 
The " Eastern gentleman who said if 



14 The Brook Trout. 

he could have but one fly he would take 
a yellow one," is probably a good angler, 
for a yellow fly is a fair choice. If I 
could have but one fly I should take 
a — ah ! I cannot name its color ; 'tis the 
quaker, a cream, buff, grayish honey- 
yellow shade. 

Trout change in their tastes by the 
month, week, day, hour, and minute. 
There are flies among the list given for 
this or that month that they will not rise 
to to-day or perhaps to-morrow, but 
surely there are some among the list that 
will please them, and you have to dis- 
cover those particular ones, and so, as 
I have said before, 'tis better to search 
among twenty-nine than twenty-nine 
hundred. 

In July of a certain season I waded a 
stream in Pennsylvania and had these 
flies with me: Quaker, Oak, Codun, 
Reuben Wood, White Miller, Yellow 
Sallie, Hare's Ear, Iron Dun, Brown 
Palmer, Cahill, and a few others. The 
first day I killed eighteen trout in fishing 
fifty yards in a small stream running 
partly through a large open field and 



Fly Fishing for Trout. i$ 

partly through bushes, fishing from the 
left bank. Twelve were taken on a 
brown palmer, four on a dark-gray midge, 
and two on a tiny yellow-gold-brown 
fly. I fished three hours, in which time 
I received exactly two hundred and 
fifteen strikes ; eighteen, as I have said, 
proved killing. I fished stealthily up and 
down the stream, hiding here and there 
and making the most difficult of casts at 
all times. I went up and down the little 
stream a half dozen times, never going 
into the wood, but merely fishing from 
where the stream came out of the wood 
to where it hid itself again beyond the 
field. Part of the water I fished, as I 
say, was in underbush, but I did not 
leave the field. 

Now I am going to show you how the 
tastes of trout varied by minutes, in two 
instances at least, and I desire you to 
know ever}^ little detail. To well con- 
vince you that the casts I made were 
difificult, I will say that my line became 
fastened in twigs, leaves, and bushes every 
other toss. I had to put the flies through 
little openings no larger than the creel 



i6 The Brook Trout. 

head and take chances of getting the 
leader caught while on the way, and after 
it was there and on its return. I some- 
times whipped twenty times at a little 
pool before I reached it. There were 
logs, branches, mosses, cresses, leaves, 
and grasses to avoid. The water in parts 
was swift and still, narrow, shallow, and 
deep, sometimes being four feet wide and 
three feet deep, and then ten feet wide 
and three inches deep ; sometimes run- 
ning smartly over bright grasses or 
pebbles and light in color, and in other 
places lying dark and still in pools made 
by logs and deep holes. 

A tyro would have fished the ground 
in ten minutes and caught nothing; some 
anglers would have gone over it once in 
twenty-five minutes and taken a half 
dozen fish. I had the day to myself; 
I had nowhere else to go ; I was out for 
sport, recreation, and study, — not fish, for 
I am a lover of nature in general, — and so 
I took three hours at the play, and fished 
and observed inch by inch like a mink, the 
king of trouters. 

I say I had two hundred and fifteen 



Fly Fishing for Trout. 17 

strikes, out of which I killed eighteen 
trout, and you are surprised. You think 
you could have done better, much better, 
but I know you could not — you could not 
have done as well as I did and I wish that 
I could put you to a test. I have seen 
a fontinalis rise to a small coachman 
twenty-six times, snapping apparently at 
the feather each time, but never allow- 
ing himself to be hooked nor hooking 
himself. He was playing. He was a 
young trout, but an educated one, and well 
knew there was no danger if he kept his 
wits about him. I have witnesses to this 
performance who will substantiate my 
story, and I can easily further prove the 
truthfulness of the statement by taking 
you to a stream where a similar perform- 
ance may be enacted. And I have seen 
an uneducated trout rise and snap at a fly 
without taking it. The first one rose in 
play, this one in curiosity — and there are 
trout that will rise in anger. All of them 
may know the bait is not food. It is a 
mistake to think that all brook trout will 
spurt from a fly the very second they dis- 
cover it is not real food, as it is an error 



1 8 The Brook Trout. 

to believe that all brook trout will take 
the fly when they know it is the living 
thing. All trout are not alike; they vary 
in their tastes and antics as they do in 
color and size. Mind you, I speak only 
of one species here — the true brook trout, 
salvelinus fontinalis, and thus the material 
should be interesting. The day I took 
my creel of eighteen was a fair one ; we 
had rain the day before; the water was 
clear and the stream was in ordinary con- 
dition. The brown hackle which killed 
twelve of the eighteen was on a No. 8 
hook; the other two flies were tied on 
No. i6, as the hackle should have been, 
for the fish were small and the stream 
was in a small-fly condition and quite 
right for the daintiest leaders and the 
finest midges. But the hackle seemed to 
please the trout; all sizes appeared to 
jump at it. I hooked many that were 
not over three inches long ! Several 
times when taking my flies from the 
water for a new cast, I lifted a poor little 
trout up in the air back of me, like the 
scurvy fisherman who makes a practice of 
landing all his fish by yanking them out. 



Fly Fishiyig for Trout, 19 

So you see it pays to be patient on the 
stream and try all sorts of gentle tricks 
vfith font inalis. You must not hurry; 
you must not be coarse ; you must not 
be careless and untidy with your fly-book. 
Take your time, fish slowly, surely, and 
delicately. Be not weary of the play: 
banish the thought of discouragement, 
keep at the sport for sport alone, and 
study as you angle. 

A little trout will rise to a fly he has 
missed one or more times; a large trout 
will seldom do so. When you miss a big 
trout do not give him back the fly for 
ten minutes, and then if you miss him 
again, change the pattern, wait a little 
while, and he is once more ready for the 
rise — if the new fly suits him. 

I never raised a trout on the scarlet 
ibis fly. I believe it is a poor color on 
the well-fished waters, just as I believe 
that all flies are killing on wild streams. 
New trout will take old flies ; old trout 
love new ones and many old ones. 
Personally I like the sober colors in flies 
for all seasons on all water, though I 
well appreciate the old rule : ** When 



20 The Brook Trout. 

the day is bright and where the water is 
clear, small flies and plain colors; in 
deep and dull waters and on dark days 
and in the evening the brighter and 
larger ones." Trout do not in all cases 
show their liking to flies in accordance 
with any condition of weather or water, 
though as a rule it is advisable to use 
lighter colors when the day and water 
are dull, which is not saying, however, 
that fish will not rise to loud flies on 
bright days or sober flies in dull weather, 
for the tastes of trout vary like the tastes 
of other living things, and nothing can 
equal them in erraticness when fly- 
feeding. 

You must give fontinalis sport, for he 
very often strikes for play more than 
food, and, like every other living thing, 
loves a choice of variety. 

There is an old story that if the angler's 
book has a pattern of fly in exact imitation 
of the real fly upon the trout water, he 
has but to join it as the stretcher to fill his 
creel. Ogden tells us in so many words : 
" Give not the trout an exact imitation of 
the real fly upon the water, for your 



Fly Fishing for Trout. 21 

artificial fly will then be one in a thou- 
sand. Something startling will please 
them better — loud gold body, strange- 
colored wings — and an odd fellow may 
take it for sport if nothing else." 

While this is a good bit of advice, it 
does not seem right to me to send it 
forth in such a sweeping manner. The 
question of whether we should imitate 
nature in general fly building has long 
been in vogue. Some say we should do 
so, and others that it does not matter. 
Both are correct — there are times when 
we should copy the living flies, and times 
when we should use those artificial things 
that have no resemblance to nature's 
insects. I have come upon a water where 
the trout were rising to the small dusky 
miller, and have, by putting on the 
artificial fly of this order, taken a dozen 
beauties in good play. It was because 
I arrived just in time ; the trout were not 
tired of their course. Perhaps twenty 
minutes later they would not have done 
more than eyed my cast. In that case, 
even if the water were covered with a 
species of the real fly, it would have been 



22 The Brook Trout, 

better to have flailed something different. 
Copy nature if the fish be devouring — 
not alone because the fly is on the water ; 
they may be tired of it. Sometimes 
there are flies being taken that are not 
seen by the angler, for trout can snap a 
fly upon the wing. Fly-fishing is not an 
easy pursuit ; 'tis a real science. Rules 
are good, but we must not fail to suit the 
rules to conditions. 

No ; you are not supposed to use the 
entire list, for to-day the trout may not 
favor over two or three of them ; to-mor- 
row he may take six of them — all difl"er- 
ent from those he may show a liking for 
to-day. It is all very well for an angler 
to take but three dozen coachmen and 
brown and gray hackle for the Western 
trout (or any trout that is not educated 
up to the standard of the trout that is 
fished for incessantly), but I should not 
like to make a month's trouting trip and 
take along only three kinds of flies, even 
if I had dozens of each of the three and 
if my favorite quaker were one of the trio, 
no matter where the stream — East, West, 
North, or South. 



Fly Fishing for Trout. 23 

Some days after my catch of eighteen 
I visited the field again and fished from 
the point where the stream entered the 
wood down to a beautiful little waterfall. 
I took twenty-one of fair size — one on a 
yellow Sallie, one on an oak fly, four on an 
Esquimaux dun, five on a hare's ear, and 
nine on the quaker. This day I had 
ninety-three rises — not as many as on the 
day I took the eighteen and had two 
hundred and fifteen rises. The day was 
dark, the water very clear and shallow, 
and there had been no rain for ten days. 

This was the occasion of learning more 
about striking the Eastern brook trout 
than I had ever before enjoyed. The 
old rule is to strike on the second of the 
rise, and, while I do not think this elec- 
tric quickness should be practiced in all 
cases and under all conditions, I found it 
was the rule this day, especially in the 
one deep pool I found. In other places 
— one in particular, where I saw six of 
my catch make every move in taking the 
flies — I found it necessary to depart from 
the old rule and strike not upon the sec- 
ond of the rise. I very often gave wrist 



24 The Brook Trout, 

too quickly. It all goes to prove that 
rules are not to be exercised at all times 
and under all conditions. We must 
make allowances. I came upon one quiet 
piece of water that was as clear and still 
as glass ; I could see every detail of the 
pebbles at the bottom. Eight pretty 
trout were in this bed of silent water, 
resting without a perceptible movement 
— not even that delicate wave of the tail 
so common with the trout in his bal- 
ancing in running water. They did not 
see me ; a bush hid my form. When my 
slender rod-tip moved over the water and 
the leader with the flies went down 
gently upon the surface, the trout thought 
(all animals think) the wind had stirred 
the frail branch of an adjacent tree and 
swept into the water upon a cobweb three 
insects for their feeding. Four rushed 
for the deceit and two were hooked qui- 
etly and quickly. I landed them and 
went away to return to the same spot 
a half hour later. Seven trout were there 
this time. I flailed gently over them, 
but received no rushing rise ; one little 
fellow came up deliberately, broke water 



Fly Fishing for Trout, 25 

two inches behind the little dun, and then 
returned to his old position. Then two 
others did precisely the same as their 
companion had done, excepting that one 
chose the oak fly for his inspection. 
Then they sank themselves, and a fourth 
gamester spurted up to the dun and took 
it in his mouth much as a sunfish would 
suck in a bit of worm. I struck him, and 
he made a splash that nearly drove a 
near-by-perched catbird into hysterics, 
and sent the other trout up, down, and 
across the stream like so many black 
streaks of lightning. Now, had I flailed 
at these fish from above or below, and not 
just over them, where I saw every move 
they made, I should have given them 
wrist on the second of their rise — as I 
did in the case of the first two that made 
the first rush — and lost any chance of 
success. 

No, I say, we must not always follow 
rules regardless of conditions. We must 
not judge all trout alike, even if they be 
of one species. Men, though of one race, 
are not all alike in their habits any more 
than they are in their sizes and colors. 



26 The Brook Trout. 

I found in some parts of the stream 
that as long as I changed the flies I had 
rises ; in other parts no trout took the 
fly, no matter how I worked it. Per- 
haps there were no fish hereabout ; per- 
haps they saw me ; perhaps they were not 
hungry, and perhaps there were hundreds 
and thousands of other reasons why they 
were not to be taken in these certain 
places. 

No man can strictly follow rules in all 
cases and take trout upon every occasion 
of his trials. Conditions govern, and 
must be studied — conditions, conditions. 



f 





TROUT TRUTHS. 

D. W. C. FARRINGTON. 

I live not in myself, but I become 
Portion of that around me ; and to me 
High mountains are a feeling, but the hum 
Of human cities torture. 

— Byron. 

|HAT is the best season of the 
year to go a-fishing ? 

I think the best time is when 
you feel Hke it and can leave 
home and business. The desire for fish- 
ing is like some diseases, in attacking 
a man with great severity without notice. 
It can be no more resisted than falling in 
love can be resisted, and, like love, the 
best treatment is its gratification. 

What is the best time o' day for fish- 
ing? 

Any time after breakfast. Never go 
before, for trout are not early risers. 
I have known men to get out of bed at 
27 



28 The Brook Trout. 

daylight, making much noise, to the dis- 
gust of those who wished to sleep, and 
rush off with an empty stomach save 
perhaps for a drink of whisky, and return 
several hours later to a cold breakfast, 
having captured nothing but a headache. 
Trout will bite just when they feel like it, 
and the best way to ascertain their biting 
time is to give them a frequent oppor- 
tunity. 

How about the wind and the weather ? 

Trout will bite when the wind blows 
and when it does not. A cloudy day is 
best except when they rise better on a 
bright, sunny one. They also often bite 
well when it rains. 

What fly is best ? 

The fly the trout seem to fancy most 
on the day you are out. I never go 
without at least fifty varieties. You may 
as well ask a woman what style of bonnet 
she prefers. The taste of trout and 
women is governed by a similar law, 
and they change it quite as often. I 
once made a fly that was so ugly that it 
frightened my cat out of the room, and 
yet it proved a great killer. The surest 



Trout Truths. 29 

way is to have every known specimen, 
and to try them all. 

What kind of hook is best? 

The one with a sharp point, and when 
you miss a trout charge your clumsiness to 
the hook and say you prefer some other 
make. 

As conditions are innumerable, it is 
difficult to make rules to-day which will 
not fail to-morrow. My advice is — go 
often and visit many localities. Kill no 
more fish than you require for your own 
eating, and do that in the most scientific 
manner. A trout is a gentleman, and 
should be treated as such and lured with 
only delicate and humane weapons. 




TROUT AND TROUTING. 

A day with not too bright a beam ; 
A warm, but not a scorching, sun. 

—Charles Cotton. 

|HERE can I enjoy trout fish- 
ing amid good scenery and 
good cheer without its neces- 
sitating a lengthy absence 
from the city ? That is a question which 
frequently rises in the mind of the toilers 
in the busy centers of the East, and it is 
one becoming daily more difficult to 
answer. Yet there are still nearby trout 
streams where a creel of from fifteen to 
fifty, or even more, in favorable weather, 
might be made. One such locality, which 
for years local sportsmen have proven, 
lies within a four hours' ride of either 
Philadelphia or New York. All that is 
necessary is to take the railroad, which 
conveys you to Cresco, in Monroe County, 
Pa., and a ride or drive of five miles 
30 



Trout and T?' outing. 31 

through the Pocono Mountains will land 
you in the^ little village of Canadensis, in 
the valley of the Brodhead ; and within 
the radius of a few miles on either side 
fully a dozen other unposted streams 
ripple along in their natural state, not 
boarded, bridged, dammed, or fenced 
by the hand of man, thanks to the natu- 
rally uncultivatable condition of the 
greater part of this paradise for trout 
fishers. The villagers of Canadensis do 
their trading and receive their mail at 
Cresco, and it is an easy matter to obtain 
excellent food and lodgings for a dollar a 
day at one of the many farmhouses dot- 
ting here and there the valleys, and a seat 
when needful in one of the several private 
conveyances running every day between 
the two villages. 

The open season for trout in Pennsyl- 
vania is from April 15 until July 15, and 
there appears to be no particularly favored 
period during these three months, for the 
trout here afford sport equally well at all 
times, though they greatly vary in their 
tastes for the fly. 

If one goes there in the early part of the 



32 The Brook Trout. 

open season, when the weather is cold, 
he should engage a room and take his 
meals at the farmhouse selected ; but if 
the trip is made in the early part of June 
or any time after that, during the open 
season, camp life may be enjoyed with 
great comfort. 

Two favorite waters within walking dis- 
tance from any of the farmhouses in 
Canadensis are Stony Run and the Buck- 
hill. The great Brodhead, a famous old 
water in the days of Thaddeus Norris, 
and noted then and now for its big trout, 
flows in the valley proper, within a stone's 
throw of the farmhouse at which I 
engaged quarters. Spruce Cabin Run, 
a mile distant, is a charming stream, but 
the trout here are not very large beyond 
the deep pools at the foot of Spruce Falls 
and in the water flowing through Turner's 
fields and woods above the falls. 

Any of these streams will afford plenty 
of sport, but if one wishes to visit a still 
more wild, romantic, and beautiful trout 
water, he has only to walk a little farther 
or take a buckboard wagon and ride to 
the mighty Bushkill, a stream that must 



Trout and Trouting. 33 

not be confounded with the Buckhill, 
which lies in an opposite direction from 
Canadensis. 

The Bushkill is the wildest stream in 
the region, and is fished less than any of 
the others named, one reason being that 
there are plenty of trout in the waters of 
Canadensis, which can be fished without 
one going so far. For those who like 
to camp, the Bushkill is the proper 
locality. I spent a day there with 
friends one season, and we caught in less 
than two hours, in the liveliest possible 
manner, all the trout five of us could eat 
throughout the day, and four dozen extra 
large ones which we took home to send 
to friends in the city. 

" The trout in the Bushkill," remarked 
one of my companions, *' are so wild that 
they're tame." An expression based 
upon the greediness and utter disregard 
of the enemy with which fontinalis, in his 
unfamiliarity with man, took the fly. 
I remember having a number of rises 
within two feet of my legs as I was taking 
in my line for a front toss. 

I know men who have many times 



34 The Brook Trout, 

traveled a thousand miles from New- 
York on an angling trip to different 
famous waters who have not found either 
the sport or the scenery to be enjoyed 
on the Bushkill. 

The lower Brodhead below the point 
at which this stream and Spruce Cabin 
Run come together is very beautiful. It 
is owned by a farmer who lives on its 
banks, and who has never been known 
to refuse anglers permission to fish there 
when they asked for the privilege. 

There are four natural features in the 
scenery about Canadensis that are espe- 
cially prized by the countrymen there — 
the Sand Spring, Buckhill Falls, Spruce 
Cabin Falls and the Bushkill Falls. 

The Sand Spring is so called because 
grains of brilliant sand spring up with the 
water. This sand resembles a mixture 
of gold and silver dust ; it forms in little 
clouds just under the water's bubble and 
then settles down to form and rise again 
and again. This effect, with the rich 
colors of wild pink roses, tiny yellow 
watercups, blue lilies, and three shades 
of green in the cresses and deer tongue 



Trout a7id Troutiiig. 35 

that grow all about, produces, indeed, a 
pretty picture. The spring is not over a 
foot in diameter, but the sand edges and 
the pool cover several feet. 

Being located at one side of the old 
road between Cresco and Canadensis 
every visitor has an opportunity of seeing 
it without going more than a few feet out 
of his direct way. Some of the stories 
told about the old sand spring are worth 
hearing, and no one can tell them better 
or with more special pleasure than the 
farmers living thereabout. One man 
affirms that '' more 'an a hundred b'ar 
and as many deer have been killed while 
drinking the crystal water of the spring." 

Each of the falls is a picture of true 
wild scenery. Though some miles apart 
they may be here described in the same 
paragraph. 

Great trees have fallen over the water 
from the banks and lodged on huge pro- 
jecting moss-covered rocks ; they are 
additional obstacles to the rushing, roar- 
ing, down-pouring water, which flows 
through and over them like melted sil- 
ver. This against the dark background of 



36 The Brook Trout. 

the mountain woods, the blue and 
snow-white of the heavens, the green of 
the rhododendron-lined banks and the 
streams' bottoms of all-colored stones 
creates a series of charming and ever- 
varying views. 

A half dozen trout, weighing from one 
to two pounds and a half, may always be 
seen about the huge rock at the point 
where lower Brodhead and the Spruce 
Cabin Run come together, and hundreds 
may be seen in the stream below the 
Buckhill Falls. I do not know that fish 
may be actually seen in any other parts 
of the waters of Canadensis, but at these 
points the water is calm and the bottom 
smooth, and the specimens are plainly in 
view. 

Do not waste time on the "flock" 
lying about the big rock at Brodhead 
Point. The trout there will deceive you. 
I played with them a half day, and before 
I began work on them I felt certain I 
would have them in my creel in a half 
hour's time. They are a pack of pam- 
pered idlers who do not have to move 
a fin to feed. All the trout food comes 




Down-pouring water . . . like melted silver.' 



Trout and Tr outing. 37 

rushing down both streams from behind 
these big rocks into the silent water and 
floats right up to the very noses of these 
gentlemen of leisure. If you have any 
practicing to do with the rod and fly do 
it here. These trout are very obliging ; 
they will lie there all day and enjoy your 
casting all sorts of things at them. This 
is a good place to prove to yourself 
whether you are a patient fisherman or 
not. 

And now a few words about the proper 
tackle for mountain streams. Most an- 
glers use rods that are too heavy and too 
long. During my first visit I used a rod 
rod of eight feet, four ounces, and I soon 
found that, while it was a nice weight, it 
was too long for real convenience, al- 
though there were rods used there nine 
and ten feet long. My rod was the 
lightest and one of the shortest ever seen 
in the valley. There are only a few open 
spots where long casts are necessary, and 
a long, ordinary-weight trout rod is of very 
little service compared with one of seven, 
seven-and-a-half, or eight feet, four or three 
ounces, that can be handled well along the 



38 The Brook Trout, 

narrow, bush-lined, tree-branch-covered 
streams. 

The greater part of the fishing is done 
by sneaking along under cover of the 
rocks, logs, bushes, and the low-hanging 
branches, as casts are made in every little 
pool and eddy. I use a lancewood rod, 
but of course the higher-priced popular 
split bamboo is just as good. I shall not 
claim my rod's material is the better of 
the two, as some men do when speaking 
of their tackle, but I am quite sure I shall 
never say the split bamboo is more than 
its equal. I do not advise as to the ma- 
terial; I speak only of the weight and 
length. Let every man use his choice, 
but I seriously advise him to avoid the 
cheap-priced split bamboo rod. 

If split bamboo is the choice, let it be 
the work of a practical rod-maker. Any 
ordinary wood rod is better than the four- 
dollar split bamboo affair. 

The leader should be of single gut, but 
the length should be a trifle more than is 
commonly used. Twelve feet is my fa- 
vorite amount. The reel should be the 
lightest common click reel. The creel, 



Trout and Troziiing. 39 

a willow one that sells for a dollar in the 
stores ; and the flies — here's the rub — 
must be the smallest and finest in the 
market. Large, cheap, coarse flies will 
never do for Eastern waters, and you 
must not fail to secure your list of the 
proper kind, as well as all your outfit, be- 
fore you start on your trip. The only 
decent thing on sale in the village stores 
is tobacco. 

When you buy your flies buy lots of 
them, for, be you a tyro or practical 
angler, you will lose them easier on these 
streams than you imagine. Yes, you 
must be very careful about the selection 
of your flies. They must be small and 
finely made, high-priced goods. I wish I 
might tell you who to have make them, 
but I dare not, lest I be charged with 
advertising a particular house. Regard- 
ing the patterns to use, I will say that 
none are more killing than the general 
list, if they are the best made and used 
according to the old rule all are familiar 
with — dark colors on cold days and bright 
ones on warm days. The later the sea- 
son the louder the fly — that is, when 



40 The Brook Trout. 

the season closes during hot weather, as 
it does in Canadensis. My favorite time 
here is from June 15 to July 15, the 
closing day, but any time after the first 
two weeks of the open season is very 
charming. I avoid the first week or two 
because the weather is then cold and the 
trout are more fond of natural bait than 
the artificial fly. Men take hundreds of 
fish early in the season with worms and 
minnows. 

I never wear rubber boots to wade in. 
An old pair of heavy-soled shoes with 
spikes in their bottoms, and small slits 
cut in the sides to let the water in and out, 
and a pair of heavy woolen socks com- 
prise my wading footwear. The slits 
must not be large enough to let in 
coarse sand and pebbles, but I find it 
absolutely necessary to have a slight 
opening, for if there be no means for the 
water to run freely in and out, the shoes fill 
from the tops and become heavy. Rub- 
ber boots are too hot for my feet and legs, 
while the water is never too cold. I have 
often had wet feet all day, and have never 
yet experienced any ill effects from it. 



Trout and Tr outing. 41 

I never use a staff in wading, but I 
should, for here in some places it is very 
hard to wade. I have often fallen down 
in water up to my waist, overbalanced by 
the heavy current, where the bottoms 
were rough, with sharp, slimy stones. If 
you carry a staff, follow the custom of the 
old anglers and tie it to your body with a 
string to keep it out of the way and allow 
your hands to be as free as possible for a 
strike. Your landing-net should be a 
small one, minus any metal, with a foot 
and a half handle, and a string tied to a 
front button on your garment should al- 
low it to be slung over your shoulder 
onto your back when not in use. 

Of course, these little points about the 
use of different things are all familiar to 
the angler with but the slightest experi- 
ence, and will appear to him neither in- 
structive nor interesting, but we must, as 
gentle anglers, give a thought or two to 
the earnest tyro, for we were young 
once ourselves. 

I always carry two fly books with me ; 
one big fellow with the general fly stock 
in, which is kept at the farmhouse, and 



42 The Brook Trout. 

a little one holding two dozen flies and 
a dozen leaders, which I carry on the 
stream. A string tied to this, too, will 
prevent the unpleasantness of having it 
fall in the water and glide away from you. 
I even tie a string to my pipe and knife. 
The outing hat is an important thing to 
me. Mine is always a soft brown or gray 
felt, and I use it to sit on in damp and 
hard places fifty times a day. 




TROUTING IN CANADENSIS 
VALLEY. 

HIS is a fontinalis paradise. 
With my friend George Blake, 
I creeled the little heroes by 
the dozen every day for a 
week. We each could have easily caught 
fifty in an afternoon had we cared to do 
so, but there were other rural pleasures to 
attend to, and we were not dealing in fish, 
and saw more beauty in just enough 
to eat than in an unnecessary quantity. 
Fishermen are generally known as 
" stretchers," and I do not deny that 
they do sometimes resort to an innocent 
little fib when a yarn may amuse many 
and injure no one, but I must say that 
this country's beauties are too numerous 
to overpraise by all the exaggeration of 
all the liars in the world. No word of 
mouth or pen could do justice to nature 
in these mountains. And I need not 



44 The Brook Trout. 

elaborate about the fish ; the truth is 
strong enough. 

Brook trout weighing a quarter of a 
pound to a pound and a half are taken 
every day by anglers, who more than fill 
their creels. Milton D. Price and Ma- 
thias Ellenberg took in one day sixty-five 
beauties on the stream known as Stony 
Run, and Wesley J. Price and a gentle- 
man from Philadelphia took half a hun- 
dred the day before above the Buckhill 
Falls. Another great stream in this re- 
gion is the Bushkill, and still another is 
Brodhead's Creek. The latter flows past 
our cabin, and is famous for big trout. 
My favorite is Spruce Cabin Stream, 
above and below the beautiful Spruce 
Cabin Falls. There are big trout in this 
water, especially at the bottom of the 
falls, and I can — if I will — take fifty trout 
in an afternoon, and they'll weigh from a 
quarter of a pound to one pound and a 
half. I like something besides fish about a 
stream, and this is why I am fond of the 
Spruce Cabin water. 

There are not many anglers in love 
with the place. Though beautiful, it is 



Trouting in Canadeyisis Valley. 45 

very hard to fish. I have to creep under 
great trees that have fallen over the water 
and then wade up to my waist to gain 
certain points in order to get along down 
the stream. The banks are lined with 
trees and shrubbery, and my line is ever 
getting tangled. One does not need to 
be a fly-casting-tournament angler to fish 
any of the Canadensis waters. Distance 
in the cast is not required as much as 
accuracy at more than one or two places 
on each stream. The rest of the fishing 
is done by short, low casts, and by creep- 
ing under branches and letting the line 
float with the ripples into the eddies. 
Every step or two there are little falls, and 
in the white, bubbling water at their bot- 
tom a trout may be taken. Under the 
big fall, and in the still waters above and 
below, the big trout hide. 

Artificial flies are the popular bait with 
the gentle angler, though all sizes of trout 
will take worms, and the big, educated 
trout like minnows. Both small, medium, 
and large trout like flies if the flies are the 
right kind. We have had great trouble in 
getting good flies. I brought four dozen 



46 The Brook Trout. 

with me, and not over a half dozen of 
them are worth the gut tied to them ; 
they are of coarse material, and bad in 
color. The six decent ones are the work 
of an artist. I could give his name, but 
it might look Hke an advertisement and 
spoil my yarn. Trout like choice food 
just as much as human beings. You may 
stick an oyster shell on a reed and decoy 
a summer yellow leg, but you can't hook 
a trout on any kind of a fly. They know 
a thing or two. 

Tyros who angle in a trout country 
without success go home and say there 
are no trout. They don't think about 
conditions of water and weather; about 
their line lighting in the water before 
their bait ; about their coarse line and 
poor flies. 

Trout are philosophers, not only the 
educated ones, those which have been 
hooked and seen others hooked, but trout 
in general. They're born that way. A 
young man came up here the other day 
with an old cane pole, weighing fully 
three pounds, and a big salt water sinker, 
and he went away saying there were few 



Trouting in Canadensis Valley. 47 

trout in these waters. I think he had a 
float with him, too, but am not sure. 

A word or two about appropriate 
tackle for mountain streams, and I'll put 
up the pen and joint the rod again. 
In the city a few weeks ago I proudly 
displayed a four-ounce, nine-foot lance- 
wood rod, and my friends laughed at 
me, saying it was too frail for any service. 
Now, I find this rod, shortened two feet, 
just the thing for this country where 
trout run small and where there's no long 
casting. I frequently run across good 
anglers here with five-ounce rods, and 
have seen two four-ounce rods. There 
is no use for a rod above four ounces in 
weight and seven feet in length. When I 
come again I shall use a three-ounce rod. 
The reel should be the lightest and small- 
est common click, and the line the finest 
enameled silk. The flies — here's the main 
thing — should be the best, and of the 
smallest brook trout pattern. Next year, 
when I make up my supply, I'll pack 
fully two hundred, and they'll be the best. 
The dearest-priced flies are none too 
good. 



48 The Brook Trout. 

Oh, I must say a word about trout eat- 
ing before I close. I've tried them in all 
styles, and the best way, I think, is 
when they're roasted over a camp fire on 
a little crotch stick, one prong in the head 
and the other in the tail. And the worst 
way, I think, is when they're fried in a 
pan with bad butter or poor lard. 

Blake and I are in our glory. Our only 
displeasure is in knowing that our perspir- 
ing city friends are not as comfortable. 
The days here are warm and bright — not 
hot and close — and the nights cool and 
clear, so that we live merrily all the time. 

I went about five blocks down the 
stream in front of the cabin to two great 
boulders, one morning, and there, during 
a little sun shower, took a salvelinus fontu 
nalis that weighed just a little over two 
pounds and a quarter. He rose to a pink- 
ish, cream-colored fly, with little brown 
spots on the wings. I forget its name, 
but it's one of the six really good ones I 
referred to. Milton Price was with me 
at the capture, and we decided to keep 
the fish alive, so I took off one of the 
cords tied about my trousers at the bot- 



Trouting in Canadensis Valley. 49 

toms (I never wear wading boots in warm 
weather), put it through his gill, and tied 
the other end to a submerged tree-root. 
Then Milton kept guard while I ran to 
the cabin for a big pail, and then Mr. 
Trout was lodged in a small box, with 
bars tacked over the top, and placed under 
a spout running from the old mill race. 
He was a big specimen — large enough to 
saddle and ride to town, the cook said. 
And pretty — as pretty as a bunch of 
lilacs and giant ferns decked with winter 
green berries. 



IN THE POCONO MOUNTAINS. 

RICHARD J. A. PASTERNACK. 

'Twas an employment for his idle time, which 
was then not idly spent, for angling was, after tedi- 
ous study, a rest to his mind, a cheerer of his 
spirits, a diverter of sadness, a calmer of unquiet 
thoughts, a moderator of passions, a procurer of 
contentedness, and it begat habits of peace and 
patience in those that professed and practiced it. — 
Izaak Walton. 

MADE a trip to Canadensis, 
Pennsylvania, in April, for a 
few days' trout fishing. Cana- 
densis is in Monroe County, in 
the Pocono Mountains. The nearest 
railroad station is at Cresco, on the Dela- 
ware, Lackawanna, and Western R. R. 
Cresco is one hundred and ten miles from 
New York. I found first-class accommo- 
dations at Brookside Cottage, in the Can- 
adensis Valley. D. M. Crane is the 




In the Pocono Mountains. 51 

proprietor, and he furnishes everything 
in the way of fishing supplies, bait, etc. 

There are seven or eight very good 
trout streams in the vicinity, Stony Run 
being the best. Goose Pond Run, Spruce 
Cabin, Buckhill Run, Brodhead Run and 
Bushkill Run are also very good. The 
trout caught in Stony Run were from 
eight to sixteen and eighteen inches in 
length. In Brodhead Run they run 
from eight to ten or twelve, as a rule, 
although I caught an eighteen-inch speci- 
men there. 

The first day's fishing at Brodhead 
Run brought me a nice mess of trout, 
and the second day at Stony Run I 
had excellent play. 

With a party I drove over to Bushkill 
Run, which is eight miles from Cana- 
densis, but here found the water too high 
for fishing. The snow was still on the 
mountains, but melting rapidly, and this 
was probably the cause of the stream 
being so high. 

Mr. Crane informs me that fine bear 
and deer hunting and grouse and hare 
shooting may be had in the autumn and 



52 The Brook Trout. 

winter. There is excellent duck shooting 
at Goose Pond, and also good pike fish- 
ing there. 

I consider this one of the best places in 
the country for fishing, hunting, and camp- 
ing. The water is excellent for wading. 
The streams are romantic and wild, and 
one can walk miles without seeing a sin- 
gle person. There is no place like it in 
New York State or New Jersey. I met 
with more success here than at any other 
place. 




THE TROUTER'S OUTFIT. 

'HE rod for stream fishing should 
weigh from three to six ounces 
and measure in length from 
seven to nine feet. Split bam- 
boo and lancewood are two of the best 
rod materials. If you cannot afford a 
good split bamboo do not buy a cheap 
one ; choose a lancewood. 

The line should be a small sized water- 
proofed silk one. The reel, a small com- 
mon light rubber click, holding twenty-five 
or thirty-five yards. 

The landing net, used to take the fish 
from the water after being hooked, should 
be made of cane with linen netting, and 
no metal about it. The handle should 
be about a foot long. Tie a string to 
the handle, tie the string to a button on 
your coat under your chin, and then toss 
the net over your back out of the way. 
The creel, or fish basket, a willow one 



54 The Brook Trout, 

about the size of a small hand satchel. 
This should have a leather strap, to be 
slung over the right shoulder, allowing 
the creel to rest on the left hip. 

The hat should be a soft brown or gray 
felt with two-inch brim. This may be 
used as a cushion to sit down upon on 
rocks or in damp places. 

The foot wear may be either gum boots, 
leather shoes, or rubber wading trousers. 
If the water is warm, wear leather shoes, 
and have nails put in the thick soles to 
keep your feet from slipping in swift 
water and on slimy stones. If you 
choose gum boots, see that they are of 
the light, thin, thigh-fitting sort and not 
the clumsy affairs with straps attached. 

The fly book for use on the stream 
should have room for not more than a 
dozen flies, with pockets for leaders, silk 
cord, small shears, and other tools. A 
larger book for your general stock of flies 
and leaders may be left at your rural 
lodgings with your tackle box and other 
traps. 

The leader, to which are attached the 
flies in use, should be of the finest quality 



The Tr outer s Outfit, 55 

of single silk gut, and in length three 
feet. Three or four of these attached 
make a cast. 

The coat and general clothing should be 
of a dead-grass, gray, or light brown color. 
Have plenty of pockets, and tie a string 
to nearly everything you carry in them; 
so you cannot lose them if they fall from 
your hands. 

The flies — every known variety of trout 
fly, providing you order only those of the 
finest make. 

Do not undertake to go trouting stint- 
ingly equipped, which is not saying that 
you are to dress and act like a circus 
clown. But you must be properly out- 
fitted. Good carpenters make good 
houses, but their work is better and more 
pleasant if they have good tools. 

The tyro who is not fortunate enough 
to have the friendship of a practical fisher- 
man to whom he may apply for advice 
should read the various sportsman's 
publications — Forest and Stream, Shooting 
and Fishing, American Field, Outing, 
Recreation, Amateur Sportsman, Field and 
Stream, Sports Afield, The Sportsman's 



56 



The Brook Trout, 



Magazine^ and Woodcraft, and the works 
on angling and ichthyology by Izaak 
Walton, Frank Forester, Seth Green, 
Charles Hallock, Wm. C. Harris, Thad- 
deus Norris, Genio C. Scott, Fred. 
Mather, Robert Roosevelt, G. Brown 
Goode, Kit Clarke, Dr. Jas. A. Henshall, 
and John Harrington Keene, and make 
a study of the catalogues of the better 
class of sporting-goods houses. 




LITTLE CASTS. 

Up and Down Stream.— English anglers 
sometimes wade up a stream and some anglers in 
this country, in order to be English, or foolish, 
affect the same ridiculous proceeding. Still there 
is some reason in this manner of wading on the 
part of the old country's anglers, because where 
they practice it the water is quiet and not alto- 
gether shallow. Here, where our trout streams 
are rapid and foaming as they rush along, it is 
simply out of the question to wade up them. The 
walking is bad, you become wet, the fish see you, 
your flies drift toward you, your line is slack all 
the time and the flies sink too often, and alto- 
gether you spoil the chances of creeling whatever 
may be takable in the water. On still, barely- 
flowing, deep waters, a line may be cast in any 
direction. 

* * 

How TO Carry the Rod.— Joint your rod 
only when you reach the place for angling, and 
take it apart again when you are ready to leave 
the water for camp, unless the camp is on the 
edge of the lake or stream where you fish. When 
fishing along thickly-wooded banks, carry the rod 
in front of you, tip first : never pull it after you. 



58 The Brook Trout. 

Fasten the hook on one of the reel bars, and then 
thrust the rod's tip through the branches or shrub- 
bery ahead of you when you move along, casting 
here and there. This is not necessary when one 
only moves a step or two, for then, if there be 
open space, the rod and line may be held clear of 
the underbrush and branches. In all cases keep 

the rod ahead of you. 

* 

* * 

In Spite of "Puck" and " Judge."— That 
old, faded yarn of the inexperienced, to the effect 
that the bent-pin-fishing country boy can catch more 
trout than the properly equipped angler is again in 
vogue, and the experienced rodsters who read it 
are again bubbling over with wrathful indignation. 
No impracticable boy, whether he be of the coun- 
try or of the city, can excel the correctly rigged, 
careful fisherman. The bent-pin youth of the farm 
may outfish the unskillful, showy tyro from the 
city, but to compete with the scientific angler he 
would stand about the same chance of outfishing 
the expert as a cow would stand fishing alongside 

of a mink. 

* 

* * 

Colors of Trout.— The color of a trout's 
back depends on the color of the bottom of 
the river, but the trout which grow rapidly 
differ greatly in spots and color from those 
which grow slowly and thrive badly, and a middle- 
aged trout differs in color from an aged trout. 
Speaking generally, the young, healthy, fast-grow- 



Little Casts. 5g 

ing fish will have silvery sides, white belly, and 
plenty of well-defined spots. The poorly fed fish 
will have few or no spots, a drab belly, and muddy- 
yellow sides. The old trout will be particularly 

lank and large-headed. 

* 

* * 

Trout in Captivity.— Trout in artificial ponds 
should be fed three or four times a week in the 
winter time. The food should be cast in the 
warmest part of the day. There is no natural 
food in artificial ponds, and feeding is necessary in 
order to keep the big fish from eating their small 
companions. In natural trout ponds fed by springs 
so much care need not be exercised in winter. 
Air holes need not be cut in any ice that may 
form, as the springs afford a proper temperature, 
and but little food, if any, need be given the fish. 

* * 
* 

No Greed.— I don't care if the fish that I 
catch weigh only a pound, no matter what the 
species may be. My tackle is light, fine, and prop- 
erly rigged, and with it, in taking big fish or 
half-pound and pound fish, I have just as much 
sport as the man who uses heavy, coarse, ill-kept 
tackle on bigger game alone. The woodcock — 
the king of game birds— is bagged with No. lo 
shot, but the sport of taking him is quite as great 
as the shooting of fowl ten times his size. 

* * 
Transporting Trout.— To bring your fish 

home, first clean them carefully, taking pains to 



6o The Brook Trout. 

remove that little dark blood streak along the 
backbone. Then, after wiping them dry, pack 
them in ferns and be careful to keep them sepa- 
rate and free from ice. Never send your fish home 
by express ; take them with you. A box cannot 
be checked, therefore an old packing trunk is a 
handy thing. In this you can also put away your 
coarse outfit, such as wading boots, oil skins, and 
landing net. 

* * 

Angler vs. Potster. — Trout in the creel or 
no trout in the creel, the truly gentle angler never 
complains of poor sport if there be trout in the 
water he fishes, if the weather be pleasant and the 
scenery fair. Some anglers — or rather pot fisher- 
men — judge their day by the actual slaughter of 
fish. The true rodster loves the pursuit and 
capture of the fish, the bright day and the beauti- 
ful natural surroundings equally well. 

* 

* * 

Trout in Mountain Lakes.— Mr. Edward 
Sawyer of the Gramercy Park ranch has studied 
the problem of raising trout in mountain lakes. 
Proximity to a slaughter-house is a necessary con- 
dition to success, he thinks. In an artificial lake, 
however perfect it may be, the fish want regular 
and very considerable supplies of animal food. 
* 

A-Wheelto the Streams.— Mr. David Rivers 
writes me : " I ride my wheel to my favorite fish- 



Little Casts. 6i 

ing grounds regularly in the summer time, but 
I carry no paraphernalia. My rod and tackle box 
are left at the fireside of a friendly innkeeper. 
I am careful to nicely clean my outfit after each 
day's sport. The wheel is excellent for such trips." 

* 

* * 

The Fingerling Fisher.— It is no extraordi- 
nary thing to see great big men with a creel full 
of trout, each not over the size of a lady's pen- 
knife. They fill their basket, have their picture 
taken, and write to friends in the city glowingly of 
the " hundred and fifty speckled beauties " they 
secured in one day's play. 

* 

* * 

Lifelike.— Don't simply drag the fly through 
the water. Work your wrist gently up and 
down ; then the lure will look like a living 
insect and not a bunch of hair or feather. You 
can't use too light a rod along mountain streams 
nor let the fly fall too lightly. 

* 

* * 

An Ideal Time.— The last two weeks in 
June — what better period for brook trout fish- 
ing in the rich flower-lined mountain streams.? 
When does the wild shrub smell sweeter than 
now, the wind blow more balmily, the songbirds 
trill livelier, and the spotted trout bite better } 

* 

* * 

To Extract Hooks.— To extract fish-hooks 
from your flesh or clothing, cut the leader free and 



62 The Brook Trout. 

push the hook on through, depressing the upper 
end so as to bring the point out as near as possible 
to where it went in. Don't try to pull the hook 
back over the barb. 

* 
* * 

Tame Trout. — An English gentleman has two 
brook trout that take flies from his fingers, and that 
ring a little bell cord when they are hungry. 
They were taught this latter performance by hav- 
ing bits of food tied to the cord when it was first 
introduced. 

Variety. — You can never carry too many trout 
flies on your trip. Fill your fly-book and stick 
them all over the crown of your hat besides. 
Trout do not like the same fly at all times any 
more than you are fond of feeding on one sort of 
meat. 



Landing the Trout.— The proper time to 
spend in landing a fish all depends upon the 
condition of your fishing ground. Lead your prize 
away from obstructions, keep the line taut, and do 
not nervously hurry the play. Take your time. 



Destroying the Streams. — Discourage the 
indiscriminate cutting down of trees. The de- 
struction of forest land means the drying up of 
trout waters and the devastation of drinking 
water. 



Little Casts. 63 

Knots in Rodwood, — Don't switch a light 
rod sideways. The maker may have purposely 
put a knot to one side, and this would cause the 
rod to snap. 

* * 

The Bungler.— Yarns and bragging puffs by 
bunghng would-be fishermen annoy the practical 
man and puzzle the earnest tyro. The record of 
honest sport is entertaining and instructive. 

* 

* * 

Striking and HooKiNG.—Nothing is more 
difficult to learn about fly fishing than the art of 
striking or hooking the game. 

* * 
Discrimination.— Do not worry if the fish are 

small ; reduce your tackle. A vest pocket watch 
keeps just as good time as a town-hall clock. 



Sportsmanship. — Chivalry to his companion 
and humane treatment to the game he pursues are 
the true sportman's axioms. 

Trout Destroyers.— Eels are ruinous to 
trout. They eat trout spawn, and they should be 
removed from all trout waters. 



Woodcraft. — A good, simple way to find a 
road or dwelling, if you are lost in the woods, is 
to follow down a stream. 



64 The Brook Trout. 

Motion of the Fly.— In clear, smooth water 
let the fly sink a little, then move it along with a 
quick motion. 

* * 
Feeding-Time. — Fish are said to bite between 

the new moon and the first^ quarter, the best, or 
between the last quarter and the change. 

* * 

Clumsv Lures.— Most trout flies are too large, 
and they itrve more to frighten the fish than lure 
it in many cases. 

* * 

Constancy. — The assiduous man among 
anglers*is the fish getter. 

* * 

Be Calm. --Don't hurry a big fish. Kill him 
as far from you as possible. 

* * 

The Best of the Apostles —Peter, Andrew, 
James, and John — were fishermen. 

* * 

Your Shadow. — Never let your shadow fall 
upon the water when angling. 

* 

* * 

Naturalness. — In fly fishing the lure must 
always be in motion. 

* 

* * 

Ancient Lessons.— Parts of the Old Testament 
teach fish catching with both seine and hooks. 



TACKLE TALKS. 

All-time Flies. — For the young angler who 
does not care to go into the study of artificial trout 
flies and their seasons I will give here a list that 
may be used at all times, during legal seasons, and 
on all waters: Alder, gray and green palmer, 
ginger palmer, March brown, Reuben Wood, pro- 
fessor, white miller, coachman, royal coachman, 
codun, scarlet ibis, dark coachman, brown and 
red palmer, grizzly king, queen of the water, king 
of the water, brown hen, and blackgnat. Early in 
the season use hooks from No. 6 to 8; later No. 8 
to 12. Use the small ones on streams and the 
large ones on lakes and rough waters ; and, as I 
have previously remarked, when the day is bright 
and where the water is clear, use the small pat- 
terns of plain colors ; on dark days and in the even- 
ing, use the large bright flies. 



Knife and Shears. — A small pair of scissors 
attached to a string and fastened to the angler's 
coat are most useful companions along the stream. 
They are much more easily operated than a knife; 
they save time, and while one may do with them 
nearly all that can be done with the knife, they will 
65 



66 The Brook Trout. 

render a service that cannot be obtained from the 
single blade. A knife should always be carried, 
nevertheless, and the proper one for the trout 
angler is that newly invented thing which requires 
no finger-nail work and which is made ready for 
service by a mere pressure of the thumb on the 
top of the handle. 

* 

Trouting Outfit.— Here's a plain, practical 
reasonable-price outfit with no unnecessary items : 
A four-ounce lancewood fly rod, a common rub- 
ber click reel to hold twenty-five yards of fine 
water-proof silk line, a seventy-five-cent cane 
landing-net, small and with no metal on it, a 
seventy-five-cent creel, a dozen of the best made 
and highest priced assorted trout-flies, a pair of 
waders, and a dollar's worth of the finest and best 
made silk gut leaders. 

*** 

Rod Dressing. — To whip rings or guideson the 
rod use silk twist, drawing the final end through a 
few coils of the whipping by means of a loose loop. 
To revarnish, wipe off all grease stains, and dress 
lightly down with the best copal. To reblacken 
brasses, mix a little lamp-blacking with spirit var- 
nish. Dress once or twice and let the dressing 
thoroughly dry before using the copal. 



Buy Your Tackle.— The old anglers tied 
their flics themselves, and, in fact, made all their 

IL.ifC. 



Tackle Talks, 6^ 

rods and tackle, save, perhaps, lines. To-day few 
anglers think of tying flies or preparing any tackle, 
owing to the expertness and moderate terms on 
the part of dealers. It is much cheaper to buy 
tackle outright as it is to buy gun shells ready 
loaded. 



To Remove a Ferrule.— Hold it over the 
flame of a spirit lamp or any flame until the cem- 
ment is softened. If it has been pinned on, take a 
large needle, break it off squarely, put it on the pin, 
and strike just hard enough to set the pin below 
the ferrule, then warm and remove. 



Dyed Feathers.— Some say that no dyed 
feathers should be used in tying flies. We have 
always found dyed feathers practicable. — London 
Rod and Gun. But the fact remains, neverthe- 
less, that all dyed feathers will fade to a damaging 
extent. 

* * 

The Joints. — If your rod joints go together 
harshly or do not come apart with ease, oil them 
lightly. See that no sand or any dirt gets in the 
ferrules. To take the joints apart easily when they 
are tightly set, gently warm the metal. 

* 

* * 

Rubber Bands. —Little rubber bands are prac- 
tical items of a sportsman's outfit. One real 
service they render is in holding the fly rod joints 



68 The Brook Trout. 

together when you travel through the woods after 
your day's fishing. 



Cork Handle. — To avoid bHsters on the 
hand, have the handle of your rod covered with 
cork instead of cane, twine, or rubber. It will pre- 
vent i^^ hand from slipping, is pleasant to tlie 
touch, and very hght in weight. 

* * 

Smooth Ferrules. — Before jointing your rod, 
oil the male ferrules with vaseline, or by rubbing 
them on the back of your neck. This will pre- 
vent the joints from becoming tight after the 
day's sport. 

* * 

Vegetable Lures. — Bearded seed of the wild 
oat has been successfully used as artificial flies in 
fishing for brook trout, and bass have struck sav- 
agely at a silvery willow leaf flailed upon the 
water. 

* * 

To Carry Flies. — Do not use your big fly 
book when wading. Put a half-dozen killing pat- 
terns in your hatband, and a dozen more in a little 
book that will not bulge out your pocket. 



Be Particular. — The finer the tackle the 
fairer the sport. 



Tackle Talks, 69 

Care of the Rod. — See that your rod-case is 
thoroughly dry before you put your rod in it, and 
always tie the case-strings loosely or you will have 
bent tips and joints. 



Position of Reel. — The reel of a bait-rod 
should be on the top side of the rod, in front of the 
handle ; that of a fly rod on the under side below 
the handle. 

* * 

Early-Season Flies. — Dark stone, codun, 
alder, Bowman, black May, beauty, Ben Bent, 
blue bottle, hare's ear. 



BORROWED THOUGHTS. 

When trout are taking the fly on the surface, 
and are not simply feeding on the larvae as they 
swim upward, a brand new fly is more likely 
to catch a fish than one which has been a great 
deal used. I always use May-flies dressed on 
eyed hooks, have a goodly supply, and when one 
gets so wet as to necessitate a considerable amount 
of labor in the drying of it, off it comes, and is 
stuck in my cap to dry at its leisure. Of course it 
is rather wasting to the cast — this frequent chang- 
ing flies — and no little trouble to those whose 
fingers are all thumbs, and whose eyesight is be- 
coming dim, but it is far less trouble to change the 
fly than to dry it when thoroughly soaked. — Lon- 
don Fishing Gazette. 

When the learner becomes accustomed to han- 
dling his rod, he must try to perfect himself in two 
matters of great importance — accuracy and deli- 
cacy. Place a small piece of paper fifteen or 
twenty feet away, and aim at making the knot in 
the end of the line fall easily and quietly upon it. 
Your efforts will be aided if you will raise the point 
of the rod a trifle just as the forward impulse of the 
line is spent, and the line itself is straightened 



Borrowed Thoughts. 71 

in the air for an instant in front. This is a novel 
kind of target shooting, but its usefulness will be 
realized when the angler finds it necessary to drop 
his flies lightly just over the head of some wary 
trout. — Ripley Hitchcock. 

Reader, did you ever throw the fly to tempt the 
silvery denizen of the lake or river to his destruc- 
tion ? Have you watched him, as it skimmed like 
a living insect along the surface, dart from his 
hiding-place and rush upon the tempting but de- 
ceitful morsel,^ Have you noticed his astonish- 
ment when he found the hook was in his jaw ? 
Have you watched him as he bent your slender rod 
"like a reed shaken by the wind," in his efforts to 
free himself, and then have you reeled him to your 
hand and deposited him in your basket as the spoil 
of your right arm ? If you have not, leave the dull, 
monotonous, everyday things around you and try 
it.— S. S. Hammond. 

There is much diversity of opinion about the 
manner of fishing, whether up or down the 
stream. The great majority of anglers, both in 
Europe and this country, favor the latter method, 
and very few the former. — JOHN J. Brown. 



FEB 12 r^3 



